Lorien Legacies: The Lost Files 7: Eight's Legacy: Alternative Version
by ArcticBlue
Summary: Eight is dead. But part of him still exists, as he wanders to the Loric underworld that Five told him about. Will Five be able to save him? Read on to uncover the history of Eight and Reynolds, while Eight wanders alone in the dark, trying to find the Elders and the fallen Garde after his death. For an eternity. Tied with my other fanfic. Rated T just to be sure.
1. Chapter 1: Underworld

**PART 1:HELL**

**Chapter 1:Underworld**

In spite of what others tell you, dying isn't so bad after all.

What's so horrible about dying is the people who are alive.

Being dead is actually a relief. A state of peace, where the Mogs don't chase you and Lorien doesn't get destroyed and where you don't have a name. Where you don't have a number that used to mark you the eighth to die. Where nothing really happens and you don't have to face the pain of them happening.

Nothing particularly happens. It's the nature of death. You still exist, but it seems like you don't. You don't exist, but you feel like you do. That's what I feel now. An eternity of staying in the same place, without day and night. Without sleep, eating and drinking. Wondering what time it is. Wondering whether we won the war or we lost. Whether or not Setrakus Ra is dead. Whether the others restored Lorien. Wondering.

Wondering where Marina is at a particular point in time. If she thinks of me or not.

It's the most horrible thing about death. The people who are still alive.

* * *

The underworld is just a dark, huge room, where there are no limits to time and space, so you can't figure out how huge it is. And even though it's dark, you can still see the patterns on the floor, on the ceiling, but nothing beyond. Chatters of ghosts, all around you, ones that you can't see. Just what Five described.

Five … how is he now? What about Two? Is he Eleven or is the girl Eleven? Who is the traitor?

Questions that are, and will stay, unanswered.

Another thing about death; it's lonely. I wish Marina was here, though I don't want her to be dead. But aside from that, I wish we were here. For an eternity. Sitting, talking, or just in silence, while the spirits of the fallen Loric float around us.

Five once said that he could see Two there. And Two could see Loridas. I wonder why I can't see anyone, and I want to. My parents, for a start. The dead Elders. Most of all, Reynolds. I curse myself for thinking it, but even Lola would be welcome here.

Alone. It's somehow relaxing. As if you are the only person in the world, and you could do everything you wanted, without Mogs and Loric and whatnot. Without anyone interrupting your peace. Alone. It goes on and on, for an eternity. Alone. Just sitting, without any sense of time or anything else. Does it matter? Does anything matter here? They do, in the world above. But does anything worth anything down here, in the underworld? They don't.

What is everything, really? Just things that we perceive, that we believe, that we want to believe, to be true. Not things that ARE true, but things we believe to be true. What if everything is false? What if there was no Lorien, no Earth, no Mogadore, no world, no space? What if there was just the room I am in now, and everything else is just a huge dream that we have while we're in here? A dream that ends when we die. And then we're pulled back into reality, the dark room. The thought is so twisted that I refuse to think about it further. I convince myself that Lorien was real. Earth is real. My whole life was real. Marina is real.

Reynolds was real.

Sometime in eternity, I'm suddenly struck by the urge to see him again. Just one more time. Anything could be worth it. I could die again, in more pain. I could be the one that died in the mountains that day. I could separate from Marina to see him … But I already have.

Reynolds, laughing, smiling. Calling me Joseph instead of Eight. Come to think of it, he never called me Eight. He wanted us not hold on to the past, not think about Lorien, about Mogadorians, but in the same time he always warned me to stay vigilant, to protect myself. He trained me.

Reynolds. Before he met Lola. Just he usual, smiling, caring self. It's the real Reynolds. The part of him I want to see again.

* * *

"Come on, Joseph!" Reynolds looks back at me from the driver's seat, smiling. "Let's go."

"So I'm Joseph now?" I roll my eyes. "That's such a wonderful name."

He ignores my sarcastic remark. "It's Oklahoma! You need a name that's not French. And anyways, it used to be your name back on Lorien, so cheer up." That's Reynolds. Always optimistic. Always smiling.

"Sure." I reply. "Joseph it is." Reynolds opens his door and walks out. I follow him.

"God, why is it so hot here?" I ask.

"It's much closer to the equator than Le Havre." He explains. "You'll get used to it soon, I promise."

"All right." I nod. "Wait, do I get to go to fourth grade? Instead of being homeschooled?"

"Joseph, you know we can't do that. It's too risky." Reynolds tells me.

"Please? I won't get in trouble." I ask, putting on my most convincing face. "Rey? Please?"

He smiles and pats me on the shoulder. "I'll think about it later. We'll make a compromise."

"What's a compomisse?" I may seem smart and all that, but in reality I'm a fourth grader.

"You'll see." Reynolds says. "You'll see, soon, Joseph."

* * *

You'll see. You'll see, soon.

And in that instant, in that moment in eternity, that moment when I'm alone, when I'm thinking about the ones I loved, both alive and dead, I do see.

In that instant in eternity, Reynolds has come back. And I see him, as clear as day.

I see. And I will find him.


	2. Chapter 2 : Memories

**Here's the newest chapter! sorry it took three weeks, my wifi was malfunctioning. Anyways, enjoy! :D**

* * *

**Chapter 2: Memories**

Again. Walking in the dark. Sitting, thinking. Trying to remember. All that were once forgotten.

They say that living for too long numbs you. Dying for too long is even worse. You start to forget life on the world above. Tiny details, at first. The sound of Reynolds's laughter. The exact color of Marina's eyes. Ella's hair, Six's voice, Five's smile. Then big ones. Cherished memories, fading away in the blink of the eye. All that's left behind is mere shadows and the dim light of the Underworld.

Trying to remember. All that was once forgotten.

* * *

"Why do we have to do all this training?" I ask Reynolds.

"Jos..." He starts to say, but stops. "Eight. You remember Lorien, don't you?"

"Well, yeah." I tell him. I was probably three or four when I left with the others, but I still can remember a lot. My parents, our house, the destruction, the chaos that followed, boarding the ship with eight other boy and girls roughly my age.

"Do you remember how it was destroyed?" He asks.

I shake my head. I suppose Reynolds told me about it once, but I was young and didn't pay any attention.

"Mogadore." He explains. "It's another planet, larger than Lorien, but smaller than Earth. The inhabitants… they're called the Mogadorians."

I nod. "I remember that. And they invaded our planet, right?"

"Yes. No one knows why they did it. Lorien and Mogadore had been at peace with each other for millennia. But that night, they did invade Lorien. We were unprepared. Every Loric was killed, except for us. Nine Garde and Nine Cépan."

"But why are we training now?" I ask, still puzzled. "Lorien has already been destroyed."

"True, but as we landed on Earth, the Mogadorians followed us here." He points to my scars on my leg. "They killed Number One and Number Two, and they're after us. We have to train because the Mogadorians are still trying to kill us."

"They're still after us?" I ask, shocked. "But, doesn't that mean that we're in danger?"

"We are in danger, Eight." Reynolds smiles. "But I'll do anything to protect you."

* * *

Memories. I hold them back, preventing them from escaping, fearing that I will lose them.

The dark light of the Underworld shines as I walk. I force my eyes on the ground, staring at the tiles, not letting anything else distract me from my memories. Walking. Walking towards a point in infinity, for eternity, trying to remember all that was all forgotten.

A cold breeze starts to blow, numbing my cheeks, and I hug myself and shiver. Where did this come from? It seems as if someone has opened a door to the underworld somewhere, and the fresh air coming from the world above is blowing around me. But that's impossible. Five couldn't be back. He didn't even know how to control his power the last time I saw him.

Well, the breeze is ceasing to blow, anyhow. I'd better teleport to where ever it's coming from, I think. I close my eyes and concentrate. I try to picture a gentle breeze, coming out from a closing door miles away. Maybe even further than that.

When I open them again, I'm standing beside a river.

Whoa, I think. How did this appear? I thought there wasn't anything in the Underworld. Seems like Five was wrong, then. The river is extremely realistic, the water crystal clear, gushing and twirling straight ahead. Where it ends, the ocean it dumps into; those are beyond my sight.

With a jolt, I realize that I'm not even standing on the marble floor anymore. I'm on some sort of shore, and my shoes are covered with mud from the banks. The sky is black, but everything is a lot brighter than before. The grey shore and the black plain that follows spreads out for at least miles. The air is cool and sweet, all right, but it clearly wasn't from the place that the breeze came from. I must've teleported here accidentally. I try to teleport again, but I can't. It must be something about this river that prevents me from teleporting that's holding me back… just like it drew me here when I tried to teleport to where ever the breeze was from.

I drop to my knees and drink some of the cold water. I haven't drank anything in ages, but I think the Underworld is keeping me alive. Or dead, for that matter. Anyhow, I'm still thirsty, and I try to drink as much as I can. And wash my face. Sit on the shore. Listen to the river gushing; the first sound I've heard since I was dead.

I'm reminded of some of my last days on Earth. On Kansas, while we sat by the shore. Talking with Marina. Telling her that I will always be there for here. Seems like I've failed. Miserably. Not that Marina couldn't take care of herself.

Holding on to these memories. Cherishing them. Never letting them go.

I stand up again, and walk along the shore. There has to be an end to this river. It can't go on forever. There must be somewhere in infinity where the river connects the marble floor. I just have to find it.

And then I hear it. A voice, coming from somewhere behind me.

"Eight!" Five shouts.

* * *

**All right, cliffhanger :( Don't forget to review, favourite and follow this fic :D I'll be updating chapter 3 this week. So stay tuned!**

**-Arctic Blue**


	3. Chapter 3 : Departure

**Chapter 3: Departure**

"Eight! Are you there?"

"Yes! I'm right here!" I shout, hoping that he can hear me. No such luck. The only sounds I hear are are of the wind whistling and of the river flowing, laughing at my misfortune.

Five. I'm sure I heard him. Shouting my name inside the depths of the underworld. My mind races as I try to process what just happened. Five is here to bring me back. He's found out a way to return to the underworld. I might be able to return.

And I can see Marina again.

Love, I think bitterly. A few months earlier, I hated it. Blamed Reynolds for loving Lola. Blamed Lola for making Reynolds fall in love with him. Swore that I would never, ever, have a relationship with anyone, no matter Loric or human.

And then I met Marina.

If Reynolds was still here, what would he think? If he approved, would he make fun of me, arguing that I was vulnerable to love myself, too? If he didn't, would he imitate my actions, shouting and complaining about our relationship like I did to him all those years ago? I guess I will never know.

My thoughts are flowing like the river beside me; churning with the sound like the roar of a wild beast; turning around, I look upon my own regret and sorrow.

* * *

"Reynolds." I say once, softly. Silence.

"Reynolds? Rey?" I ask. Silence again. I turn around and see my Cépan day dreaming, looking ahead with a sloppy smile on his face.

"Rey!" I shout. "Time for training!" At last, Reynolds hears me, and snaps out of it. "Yeah, Joseph. Sorry. What's wrong?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing." I shake my head in disbelief. "A few weeks ago, you begged me to go to training. Now, you're always thinking about something and I have to drag you to train with me. What is it? Have the Mogs found out where we live?" Even as I say these words, I know that they're not true. If Reynolds really caught sight of a Mog, he wouldn't smile like that.

"It's nothing, Joseph." Reynolds puts his hand on my shoulder, shaking his head. "The Mogs haven't even come close. For all we know, they still think we're in France, freezing to death." He smiles.

"It's something." I insist. "I know it's nothing bad, but… Still, shouldn't you tell me what it is? I still need your help to hone my telekinesis."

"Really, Joseph, I'm fine..." He starts to say, but I interrupt him. "Reynolds. You've never hidden anything from me."

He sighs. "All right, Joseph. I… met somebody yesterday."

"Who? Is it one of the Greeters?" I ask excitedly. It's about time that we had some help from the humans.

He shakes his head, still smiling. "Her name is Lola."

* * *

Confusion. Shock. Anger. Flowing through me all at once. But I was young then. I was foolish. How could I understand what Reynolds might have been through?

Stop being sentimental, I tell myself. Find away out of this river and you can find Five.

I start to trek alongside the shore, watching as the mesmerizing waters splash around and drops spray around me. Marina would've loved this, I think. Again, the sorrow of being alone strikes me.

The river starts going downhill, and I follow its descent. Until I decide to make things much simpler. I close my eyes and imagine a salmon, livelily flopping around, dancing with the waves. Suddenly, my body changes form and I gasp as my lungs protrude into gills, and the air is as choking as if it were poison. I jump into the cold, fresh water, and oxygen floods me, giving me energy. I swim down-shore easily, and my muscles relax as the burden of walking around lifts from my shoulders.

Swimming around inside the cool waters, I dive down and touch the bottom of the river, dozens of feet from the surface. The world inside the river strikes my enhanced sight, and I look at the world above me, now filled with a kaleidoscope of colors, like something out of Marina's paintings. For a moment, I forget that I'm still trying to swim downstream, and flip around and watch as the colors shift.

Then around me, the water erupts, swirling around as if someone just jumped in the river. Panicked, I turn back into human form and stick my head above. At least, I try to. The water rises even as I kick my legs, at an impossible speed like the lava in a volcano.

I manage to struggle to the surface, and take in a deep breath, which fills my lungs with oxygen. I open my eyes. I'm now in some sort of circular pool, and the chilling water from the river is filling it in. Above me, light shines, bright and clear… an exit out of here?

My strength is slowly fading, but my body stays afloat as the water continues to rise. Maybe I don't need to find Five Maybe this is it. This is where I get to leave the underworld once and for all.

The rising motion of the water is starting to cease, and the halo glows even more brighter. I can't wait to see Marina again, or Six, or Ella, or even Nine. My only regret is that I did not talk to Reynolds. But somehow, my body is still in a state of ecstasy as the water levels with the ocean.

Wait… An ocean? Where have I arrived at? My eyes fail to accustom to the brightness of the environment I am now in. I cover them, and they slowly assimilate to my surroundings.

What I see shocks me.

To my left and right, the sea spreads on to infinity, and waves caress the shore in front of me. And ahead is an island, with a towering mountain in the center, kissing the edge of the sky with its peak.

I realized what just happened. I haven't left the Underworld…

I've left Hell and arrived at Purgatory.

* * *

**Right, Poor Eight D: Tweet about, sorry, post in a review about how you liked this chapter... Part 2 will hopefully come next week! Until then, we'll have to wait to watch Eight climb up a mountain.**

**-p.s.**

**The Real Title of The Lost Files: Five's Legacy.**

**D: What! That f*king traitor! Eight's Legacy is way cooler, right?**

**-Arctic Blue**


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